Figuring the Ideal College Student: How Early College High School Replicates Hierarchy

• In Event: Reframing College Access: Student Agency, Readiness, and the Politics of Preparation

Abstract

Early college high schools (ECHSs) are schools of choice that allow historically underrepresented students to earn an associate degree during high school. Research suggests that educational sorting influences how students make sense of themselves and their potential relative to others. Yet, these dynamics have received scant attention in the ECHS literature. This case study used figured worlds theory and qualitative methods to explore ECHS students’ college identity development at an ECHS in Texas. The findings reveal how local discourses portrayed ECHS students as uniquely committed to their academic and college success, while typecasting non-ECHS students as lacking that same commitment. The study has implications for ECHS reform and educational inequality.

Authors

• Julia C. Duncheon, University of Washington

• Daniel Yi, University of Washington